About Us

Once upon a time there were two sisters named Kate and Sarah Klise who wanted to make a book. And they did! Or rather, we did.

Our first book wasn't very good. We didn't know what we were doing. (We were only 10 and 11 years old.) But we knew we had fun making it. So we kept making books. We made mistakes, too, and a lot of big messes. Then we discovered a funny thing: If you tinker with a mistake long enough, it often turns into a book. Mistakes + Tinkering + Time = Books!

Here are some other things we know.
         

Photo by Dawn Shields

Name: Kate Klise
Occupation: writer
Birthday: April 13
Place of birth: Peoria, Illinois
Current residence: a farmhouse in the Missouri Ozarks
Education: Marquette University (English major)
Favorite color: robin egg blue
Favorite song: “Wichita Lineman” by Jimmy Webb
Favorite book: Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Burns 
Favorite artist: my sister, M. Sarah Klise (of course!)
Favorite things to do: read, write, laugh, travel, get lost in unfamiliar places


                 Want to know Kate's top 10 tips for writing? Click here! 

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Name: M. (stands for Mary) Sarah Klise
Occupation: illustrator
Birthday: December 31
Place of birth: Peoria, Illinois
Current residence: a Victorian cottage in Berkeley, California
Education: Marquette University (History major)
Favorite color: a clean white piece of paper 
Favorite song: “Waters of March" by Antonio Carlos Jobim
Favorite book: The Twenty-One Balloons, William Pene du Bois
Favorite artist: My son, Milo
Favorite things to do: draw, tinker, build things, teach drawing and painting to my students in the Bay Area
       
          Check out Sarah's secrets for drawing here!

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